Readers will be fascinated by Bentele's stories of the setbacks and the successes he encountered over the course of his acclaimed career. The dawn of the jet age, developments at the end of World War II, the development of automotive and aircraft gas turbines, and the rotary engine era are just some of the historical events which are recounted in this book.

This book attempts to find a middle ground by balancing engineering principles and equations of use to every automotive engineer with practical explanations of the mechanics involved, so that those without a formal engineering degree can still comprehend and use most of the principles discussed. Either as an introductory text or a practical professional overview, this book is an ideal reference.